This is our most popular (and best priced) Santorini shore trip. You enjoy a visit to the cliff hugging village of Oia, the famed Blue Dome Church, one of the island's white washed villages, the highest peak on the island, a volcanic sand beach and a local winery for a wine tasting.
You will transfer from the ship by colorful local kaiki (tenders) to Fira old port where you will need to take cable cars (tickets not included) up the mountain side to meet your local guide along with the driver and private vehicle.
Your first stop is the northern most tip of the island to visit the village of Oia. This dramatic village, built on a steep crest of the caldera, has many of its dwellings nestled into niches hewn from the volcanic rock. The village was once the home of wealthy seafarers, a fact still evident in their two story mansions painted pastel colors, built by sea captains who made their fortunes trading across the Aegean before the age of steamships. Your guide will walk with you among the narrow cobbled streets where you'll come across many tiny shops of local ceramic art, paintings and semi precious jewelry.
Next is a stop in Firostefani to see the famed Blue Dome church which is seen on so many postcards and brochures about Santorini. The blue you see is more than decoration: in Greek Orthodox tradition, blue domes are meant to symbolize the sky and heaven, and blue is widely believed to ward off evil, the same idea behind the blue "mati" eye charms sold throughout the island. Blue and white are also the colors of the Greek flag, and a 1967 to 1974 military government decree actually required islanders to paint their buildings in these two colors, which helped cement the look most visitors associate with Santorini today.
Next you drive to the highest point, Prophet Ilias, on the island to enjoy the wonderful views from this vantage point as your guide explains the island's unique situation. From here you gain a full understanding of the unique volcanic shape. This is also the location of the Greek Christian Monastery which is perched on the mountain top.
Based on timing and your interests you can stop to see another of the islands whitewashed villages such as Pyrgos or Megalochori. Other options to include are a stop at one of the red or black volcanic beaches such as Perissa and Perivolos.
Before your tour is complete you will stop in a local winery where you have a tasting of 5 local wines. Santorini's signature grape is Assyrtiko, grown nowhere else in the world quite like it: the vines grow directly in ash rich volcanic soil, which gives the wine its sharp acidity and mineral character, and the lack of clay in that soil makes the vines naturally resistant to the phylloxera pest that has devastated vineyards elsewhere in Europe.
Finally you are brought to the capital of Santorini, Fira. You may choose to remain in town at your leisure, or return immediately to the ship by taking the cable car to the pier far below the cliff's edge.
MEETING INSTRUCTIONS- All passengers arriving into Santorini will take tender boats from the ship to the Old Port. After arriving to the Old Port, walk approximately 50 feet to the cable car and purchase your tickets (12 Euro per person round trip). Take the cable car up the mountain. At the exit, you will meet your guide holding a sign with your group name written. To allow time for this process, we recommend starting your tour 90 minutes after ship's scheduled arrival.
Review Location- Santorini 
